‘Bone Soldier’ Taiji Ishimori successfully defended his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship earlier today against Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger. Ishimori will now prepare for his third defence of the title in the World’s Most Famous Arena Madison Square Garden. It was also announced today that Liger will be retiring at the end of the year. You can read more about that story below:

• Jushin Liger Announces Retirement Plans

It was also confirmed earlier today that Ishimori will be defending his Championship against Dragon Lee. The CMLL star Dragon Lee has been one of the most exciting performers in the NJPW Juniors division over the past few years. Lee had a fantastic run of feature bouts against Hiromu Takahashi whilst the ‘Time Bomb’ was on excursion in Mexico. Unfortunately during their last bout for NJPW Takahashi suffered a horrific neck injury. Takahashi is still recuperating from that injury and his return date is not yet confirmed.

The updated match card for G1 Supercard is now as follows:

• IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match – Jay White (c) vs. 2019 New Japan Cup Winner
• IWGP Champions vs. ROH Champions – Guerrillas of Destiny (c) vs. The Briscoes (c
• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match – Taiji Ishimori (c) vs. Dragon Lee

Ishimori and Dragon Lee it’s happening! Last night our Junior Heavyweight Champion challenged Dragon Lee for the #G1Supercard in Madison Square Garden.#MSG #ROH #njpw pic.twitter.com/r5IzpJWk3C

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 7, 2019

WWE’s NXT UK brand continued its weekly show this past Wednesday. The main event saw Jordan Devlin take on Travis Banks in a hellacious Falls Count Anywhere match.

Here’s the full results for NXT UK (03/06):

• Ligero b. Joseph Conners – Ligero took the win using Drago’s Dragon’s Tail cradle for the pin
• Toni Storm cut a promo about the NXT UK women’s division. She mentioned the division being strong and her being on top of the world. The camera then focused on Jinny walking into the arena.
• Wild Boar and Primate appeared in a hype package
• Gallus cut a promo about being disrespected and how they took out Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster. They stated that their goal is to take out WALTER and make NXT UK THEIR Kingdom.
• Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel b. Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley – Aichner and Barthel took the win after hitting a double-team powerbomb/uppercut combo 
• Video packages aired for Nina Samuels and Kay Lee Ray
• Nina Samuels b. Charlie Morgan – Samuels took the win after hitting a Ushigoroshi on Morgan
• Pete Dunne cut a promo about being able to work with WALTER to take on Gallus
• Jordan Devlin b. Travis Banks – Devlin took the win in a falls count anywhere match. The ‘Import Killer’ hit a Spanish Fly off the apron and through the table to win via pinfall

PROGRESS will be presenting their 87th Chapter event on Sunday 31st March. ‘Breadknife’ will be taking place from the company’s spiritual home; The Electric Ballroom in Camden, London.

A special 6-man tag team match has been announced for the pre-show. Will Ospreay’s Frontline promotion will be featured when Malik, Jay Joshua and Kam Lucia take on Scotty Davis, Nedeem and Callum Newman.

On Demand Service

Frontline revealed their new On Demand streaming service via the Pivotshare platform back in 2018. The service is available at a $4.99 per month cost and features the first three shows from the company. ‘Build Me An Empire,’ ‘S.P.I.R.I.T’ and ‘J1-League’ took place back in 2018 and feature a stellar line up of talent.

Bulld Me An Empire is certainly worth the cost alone. The main event featured an outrageous bout between Chris Ridgeway and Japan’s KENOH. Ridgeway is an accomplished ‘strong style’ combatant in his own right but this match at the top of the card will be the bout that catapults him into the upper echelons of both the UK scene and, hopefully, Japan (much like how Ospreay’s bout against Okada for Rev Pro got him on a plane going East). We spoke to Ospreay back in 2018 and he discussed his want to bring ‘puroresu‘ to the United Kingdom, this big time main event and the reaction from the crowd in attendance seems to solidify that strong style/puroresu has truly arrived in Britain.

#Chapter87: We don't usually advertise the pre-show match but we're excited to team up with @FrontlinePuro for this 6-man tag team showcase! Malik, Jay Joshua and Kam Lucia take on Scotty Davis, Nedeem and Callum Newman. Make sure you're in the building in time for this one! pic.twitter.com/Zijrd0z5WM

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) March 6, 2019

PROGRESS Wrestling has announced the latest star for their Super Strong Style 16 tournament. Lucha Underground/AAA performer Aerostar will be making his debut for the company later this year. Super Strong Style 16 takes place May 4th-6th at Alexandra Palace in London, England.

We reported back in February that the future for Lucha Underground looks less than certain. Co-Executive Producer Chris DeJoseph recently responded to a fan on Twitter asking about the future of the show and he stated that “personally I think it’s dead. But I hope not.”

• Lucha Underground Producer Says Show Is “Probably Dead”

Personally I think it’s dead. But I hope not.

— Chris DeJoseph (@chrisdejoseph) February 19, 2019

It is interesting that Aerostar is performing for a company so intrinsically linked with WWE. PROGRESS co-owners Jim Smallman, Glen Joseph and Jon Briley are all working under the NXT UK banner and are reportedly running the UK developmental brand.

Aerostar is the fourth participant announced for this year’s tournament. NXT UK Superstar Travis Banks announced that he would be taking part in SSS16 back at the Wembley Arena show last year.

Recent NXT UK signee Ilja Dragunov was announced as the second participant in the tournament. Dragunov made his debut for PROGRESS back at Wembley Arena in a losing effort to Pete Dunne. Former IMPACT star Trevor Lee has also been confirmed for the 3 day event.

#SSS16: The high-flying, devil-may-care luchador @aaaerostar1 makes his PROGRESS debut at Super Strong Style 16! 4th-6th May @yourallypally // tickets: https://t.co/4Sj1N1ebsn #ThisIsPROGRESS pic.twitter.com/WXiSwZHaDI

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) March 5, 2019

Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) has announced the next bout for their upcoming March 10th event. ‘Drippin Like a Knackered Fridge’ will be taking place at The Assembly in Aberdeen, Scotland.

The company has announced that ICW World Champion Lionheart will be defending his Championship against NXT UK Superstar Mark Coffey.

The company also recently announced that Bad Company (Wolfgang, B.T. Gunn, Krobar & Stevie James) will be taking on Joe Hendry, Ravie-Davie, The Fresh Prince Of Drumoyne Square, Kez Evans & Leyton Buzzard. This 8-man tag team match joins the already confirmed bout of Aaron Echo taking on Scotty Swift. IMPACT Wrestling star Grado and The Kinky Party have also been confirmed to be appearing.

ICW recently held their Square Go! event in Scotland. The Royal Rumble style event saw a surprise appearance from WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett. Rudo Lightning eventually won the 30 man rumble bout. Rudo entered the Royal Rumble styled match at number two. Along with Liam Thomson, who entered in the first spot, lasted over an hour. Some high profile competitors in the bout included NXT UK Superstar Wolfgang and a returning former ICW World Champion, ‘Just Justice’ Jackie Polo. Rudo eliminated Joe Hendry last to win the bout.

https://twitter.com/InsaneChampWres/status/1102557593908797440

Revolution Pro (Rev Pro) Wrestling has announced two top New Japan Pro Wrestling stars for their upcoming Epic Encounter 2019 event. The show will be taking place on Friday May 10th from York Hall in Bethnal Green, London.

Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) will be taking on the British Tag Team Champions in one of the feature bouts of the night. Suzuki-gun’s Zack Sabre Jr and Minoru Suzuki are the current reigning and defending champions for this bout. Aussie Open are one of the top teams currently touring the UK independent scene, having performed on cards for PROGRESS, DEFIANT and of course Rev Pro. Zack Sabre Jr recently fought Tomohiro Ishii for the company’s British Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom in January.

David Starr vs El Phantasmo has also been announced for Epic Encounter. Starr is one of the more underrated talents on the UK/European scene, he is currently a free agent. The likes of AEW, NJPW and ROH are likely to start taking notice with his recent performances across the globe. Starr is also scheduled to be taking part in the wXw 16 Carat Gold tournament in Germany this weekend. El Phantasmo has also been prominent for Rev Pro over the past year having won the British J Cup at Wrestling Media Con in 2018.

Friday May 10th. York Hall, Bethnal Green
Epic Encounter 2019
Mailing list pre-sale starts Monday at 7pm pic.twitter.com/xQmTxUN4uv

— Revolution Pro (@RevProUK) March 1, 2019

New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that Ryusuke Taguchi will be replacing David Finlay in the upcoming New Japan Cup. As we reported recently Finlay is out of the tournament due to injury. The New Japan star is suffering from a shoulder injury.

New Japan sent out the following press release confirming the injury: “David Finlay injured his left shoulder on  23rd February during his match in Korakuen Hall. As a result, he will not participate in the New Japan Cup tournament as originally planned. The date of his return is as yet undecided.”

• David Finlay To Miss New Japan Cup Due To Injury

NJPW confirmed the following in a recent press release. “With this change, Ryusuke Taguchi will be competing in the first round of the New Japan Cup on 10th March in Hyogo prefecture, where he will face Hiroyoshi Tenzan.”

The New Japan Cup begins on Friday March 9th from the world famous Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The 32 man tournament will be dominating the New Japan cards throughout March and the winner will be taking on Jay White at the G1 Supercard event on WrestleMania weekend in New York City. The current favourites to win the entire tournament are Kazuchika Okada, Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito and Hiroshi Tanahashi.

Ryusuke Taguchi is taking the place of David Finlay in the New Japan Cup!

Read the full press release on the NJPW official English website!https://t.co/vlApVUGYDz#njpw #njcup pic.twitter.com/dKz9STiBez

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 4, 2019

NJPW NEVER Openweight Champion Will Ospreay will be taking on IWGP Heavyweight Champion Jay White at the upcoming 47th Anniversary show. Ospreay captured the belt at the Wrestle Kingdom show January 4th against Kota Ibushi.

• Will Ospreay To Face Jay White At NJPW Anniversary Show

Both White and Ospreay were members of the CHAOS faction up until recently. ‘Switchblade’ Jay White made the change to Bullet Club alongside Gedo and quickly defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP title after the fact. Ospreay recently challenged his former stablemate to the aforementioned bout at the Anniversary show. The ‘Aerial Assassin’ recently spoke to New Japan’s English language site NJPW1972.com about the upcoming match.

Unexpected Win Against Tanahashi

When asked about White winning the bout in shocking fashion Ospreay had some interesting comments. The English star stated that “I was in England with my missus and we were watching it on TV, on NJPW World. The moment that Tanahashi went for the High Fly Flow and he caught him and hit the blade runner I sat up. He beat Tanahashi, I couldn’t believe it, in fact I didn’t want to believe it, but he’s right.” Ospreay elaborated further, saying that “we all didn’t take him seriously, we all didn’t think that Jay could beat him. Maybe Tanahashi thought the same, I don’t know, I wasn’t there. But the fact remains that Jay White is the IWGP Heavyweight Champion and he did that by beating the Ace.”

When The Assassin Meets Switchblade

Ospreay then commented on the match against White, saying “I think he’s going to underestimate me because he has Gedo in his corner. Now, Gedo helped me out a lot when I was growing in the Junior Heavyweight division and perhaps Gedo thinks he knows everything about Will Ospreay.” Ospreay continued, saying “I think Jay’s going to go into this fight super confident. But, I’ve kind of changed since Gedo left. There are some elements I’ve kept doing since those days, but there are other elements that have changed me and because of that I think I’ve become a better person and a better wrestler.”

Strategy In The Bout

Finally Ospreay stated that “whatever strategy that Jay White brings, the moment that he turns his back on me and I bring this out [points to elbow] and I put my hidden blade right into the back of his head and knock him spark out that’s not enough for me. I will then hoist that guy up onto my shoulders and deliver the storm breaker. He’s going to hear it. This quiet voice saying ‘One, Two, Three.’ My awesome music will play and all you hear is ‘Winner: NEVER Openweight Champion, Will Ospreay.’ That’s something that’s going to set in, that Jay White isn’t unbeatable.”

You can read the full interview here.

The biopic ‘Fighting With My Family’ based on the life of WWE Superstar Paige has been garnering critical acclaim from audiences and reviewers since the release of the film.

• Read Our Review of Fighting With My Family

The UK-based Evening Standard newspaper had a review of the motion picture featured on its website. Their review was largely positive and their critic gave the film a 4/5 rating. In an odd comment the reviewer decided to single out the body type of lead star Florence Pugh, saying that she has “chunky thighs.”

Here is the comment in context: “Though Lowden’s performance is gorgeous, Pugh is the film’s main weapon. Hauntingly intense in The Falling and Lady Macbeth, the 23-year-old turns out to be an effortlessly nuanced comedian. With chunky thighs. Her character is based on real-world WWE Champion Paige, whose legs are significantly slimmer. How cool! So many actresses offer an idealised version of real women. Pugh is changing the ideal.”

Pugh saw the review and sent out a tweet commenting on the body shaming comment. She stated that “Singling out my ‘chunky’ thighs doesn’t help normalizing an ‘all shape&size’ Hollywood. In fact that’s part of the problem. I do hope people take more away from the film than the circumference of my hams.”

Oh dear. Singling out my “chunky” thighs doesn’t help normalising an ‘all shape&size’ Hollywood. In fact that’s part of the problem.
I do hope people take more away from the film than the circumference of my hams.
?@EveningStandard?
https://t.co/XG5pkEL1Iv

— Florence Pugh (@Florence_Pugh) March 1, 2019

Paige also saw the comments and reacted via Twitter. The WWE Superstar said that she was “appalled” by the comments:

https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/1101712810826969090?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1101712810826969090%7Ctwgr%5E363937393b636f6e74726f6c&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fnews%2F2019%2F03%2Fpaige-appalled-following-critic-body-shaming-comment-651550%2F

Paige will be returning to her hometown of Norwich for the WAW Fightmare event in June. Information on the show can be found via the following link:

• Paige Appearing At ‘Fightmare’ UK Show In June

World Association of Wrestling (WAW) has announced that Billy Gunn will be taking part in the upcoming Fightmare event on June 2nd. The soon to be WWE Hall of Famer will be tagging alongside former Norwich City football player Grant Holt in the main event. Fightmare is scheduled to be taking place at Norwich City’s football ground Carrow Road. The show is being touted as the biggest in Europe. It could well beat PROGRESS’ recent show at Wembley Arena in terms of ticket sales.

Already announced for the Megashow are WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley. WAW World Champion Roy Knight and WWE Superstar and former Smackdown General Manager Paige.

WAW is owned by Paige’s family, the Knights. This will be the former Champion’s first official appearance for the company since she joined the WWE a number of years ago. The Knight family are currently celebrating the release of ‘Fighting With My Family.’

The film is based on Paige’s journey to WWE and her rise to RAW and the Diva’s Championship. The motion picture has garnered critical praise and was produced by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

• Read Our Review of Fighting With My Family

You can check out Gunn’s announcement for the event via the tweet below:

? Oh you didn’t know…?

Well you do now…

Soon to be ‘Hall of Fameasser’ @RealBillyGunn will be @Grantholt31’s tag team partner at @Fightmare_

June 2nd, Carrow Road
TICKETS: https://t.co/zm9NiHviSI#fightmare #waw #ncfc #regencyproud @bigctweets @RealMickFoley pic.twitter.com/xwSSqzK3C9

— World Association of Wrestling (@WAW_UK) March 1, 2019

NXT Superstar Johnny Gargano recently made his WWE main roster debut alongside Aleister Black, Ricochet and NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa. The NBC affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio recently spoke to hometown hero Gargano. Johnny Wrestling made some interesting comments regarding his main roster call up.

• Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano Talk About RAW Debut

Gargano stated that he was “actually in Cleveland when I got the call that I was going to be on Raw and SmackDown. I was at my mom’s house and it was in the morning. They said, ‘Hey, you’re going to be on Raw and SmackDown in a couple days,’ which is pretty crazy.”

Johnny elaborated further, saying that “it seems like all of my biggest life events happen when I’m actually at home in Cleveland, around my family. I was there for my dad’s 77th birthday party, so I got to go to his party later that night and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to be on Raw and SmackDown in a couple days.’ It’s super cool, man. I know I’ve used the word, ‘cool’ a lot, but I’m still just a kid from Cleveland, and life is just cool.”

There are reports that Gargano, Black, Ciampa and Ricochet will be working RAW, Smackdown and NXT going forward. There’s also a good chance that this changes post-WrestleMania, but is not confirmed at this point.

We’re on the road to WrestleMania and the Twitter banter between Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey is heating up. Despite winning this year’s Women’s Royal Rumble, WWE storylines have the Irish grappler without a match at WWE’s biggest show of the year. That isn’t stopping her from getting under Ronda Rousey’s skin.

Things got so heated this week that Ronda Rousey threatened to “Beat the living s**t” out of Becky Lynch the next time that she saw her. Ronda Rousey called out Becky Lynch for posting “fake” mugshot photos of herself, stemming from Lynch’s “arrest” this past Monday after Raw. Lynch told Rousey not to use the “f” word and told her to focus on getting good at being a pro wrestler instead of acting above it.

Rousey doubled down on her use of the “F” word, posted a photo of Becky Lynch’s dis-armher arm bar finisher with the caption, “F word? You mean “fake”? Fake like your non sensical BS ‘armbar’ that doesn’t even work and just looks like you’re holding the dick you wish you had?” Lynch responded with the following – and yes, that’s the face of Ronda Rousey’s husband, Travis Browne.

https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchWWE/status/1101209494980313092

Lynch called out Ronda Rousey for going “Full Russo” on her. Rousey had enough and advised Lynch to lawyer up.

Lawyer up bitch, you’re about to have plenty to sue me for #icanaffordit #worthit

— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) March 1, 2019

Their social media feud was a hot topic of conversation this week on the Busted Open Radio show on Sirius XM. Co-host Bully Ray knows the wrestling business inside and out and believes Rousey is legitimately disturbed by Becky Lynch’s trash talking.

“I think Ronda got so p*ssed off that Becky put the picture of the husband up there that she threw everything out the window,” he said. “Start using the word, start using her real name, basically, everybody is reading this and going, ‘Oh my God, is this real?’ So, Dave I ask you, is it?” Ray’s co-host Dave LaGreca then commented that he had no idea if the ‘beef’ between the two was legitimate. Bully Ray then responded by saying “that’s the beauty of it.”

• Ronda Rousey Takes Shot At Becky Lynch Over Arrest

Credit to Busted Open Radio and h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Ronda Rousey is embroiled in a heated social media feud with Becky Lynch as she gears up to be part of a historic WrestleMania main event. Since Becky Lynch won the Women’s Royal Rumble, their rivalry has been one of the hottest angles in all of professional wrestling

On a recent installment of the Ronda on the Road YouTube series, Rousey made it clear that she loves being part of WWE, but has other options.

“The thing is, I love this job. I really love this job. But I don’t need it at all. Not in the least little bit.”

Rousey continued, “So the second I’m not happy, I reserve the right to walk out the door and live happily ever after with the love of my life.” Ronda’s next comments solidified that this was very much a speech ‘in character.’

“The Authority, so they are called in this company, are just used to bullying everyone around. And like I said, they give them just enough for them to live a lavish lifestyle, but still have to come back. I don’t.”

Rousey is currently scheduled to defend her RAW Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 35.

205 Live Superstar Lio Rush made his WWE main roster debut in mid 2018. The high flying and brash performer was paired with Bobby Lashley soon after. Rush recently appeared on Lillian Garcia’s podcast and discussed how the pairing came together.

Pairing With Bobby Lashley

“Everything was moving so fast, and honestly I was excited and so fortunate and honored to be paired with Bobby Lashley,” stated Rush. “I don’t want to make him feel old but I was watching him when I was younger. It’s so crazy when I found out that was going to happen.”

Rush elaborated further, saying “I was so ready. I didn’t even know what I was going to do, but whatever it was I was just ready to tackle it full force.” Lio also discussed the timing of the pairing, saying “at the same time everything was moving so quickly because I had been signed by WWE/NXT and within 6-7 months I got moved to 205 Live and then within another 5 months I got the call for WWE Raw, I was like, oh my goodness. I had a lot going on.”

There have recent reports that Lio Rush has a ‘reputation’ backstage. Rush discussed with Garcia how Lashley has helped him fit into the RAW locker room.

Reputation

• Backstage News On Lio Rush’s Reputation

“Bobby Lashley has been a huge help as far as making me feel welcomed and comfortable in the locker room. And with the company in general. Helping me with learning the business inside and outside the ring. Especially coming from the independent circuit and working out for guys that are in for themselves because everybody is trying to get signed.”

“So, people are trying to go out there and do what will favor them the most. So you don’t really get to have that interaction with people backstage asking for advice. You do, but it is from an ex-WWE Superstar, so it is very rare so coming from the independent circuit and then working with the 205 Live guys and being shot up straight to the main roster on Raw and working with Bobby Lashley. He’s someone who has been at this for so long and been a top guy for so long and is hungry and passionate, it is pretty cool.”

*Credit to WrestlingINC for the transcription

New Japan Pro Wrestling will be heading to Dallas later this year to kickstart the G1 Climax tournament. The annual extravaganza takes place throughout the summer and is regarded as the premier tournament in Japanese (and beyond) wrestling. The winner of the tournament typically goes on to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Champion at the next year’s Wrestle Kingdom event in the Tokyo Dome.

AXS TV recently announced that Night 1 of the tournament will air live on the channel. The company confirmed the news through Sports Illustrated (the full announcement can be found via the tweet below).

The channel recently featured the IWGP Heavyweight Championship match from the New Beginning in Osaka 2019. This match saw Jay White defeat Hiroshi Tanahashi in an unexpected fashion. 

New Japan will soon be holding their 32-man New Japan Cup tournament. The winner of which will go on to face White at the G1 Supercard event on WrestleMania weekend. The sold out show will be taking place from Madison Square Garden and is being co-promoted alongside Ring of Honor. No matches have been confirmed aside from the title bout for White.

New Japan Pro Wrestling airs every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on AXS.

U.S. debut of NJPW’s G1 Climax to air live on AXS TV https://t.co/OhYDDDFTbJ via @JustinBarrasso @axstvfights @njpw1972 @njpwglobal

— AXS TV PR (@AXSTV_PR) March 1, 2019

Former WWE/WCW Sean ‘X-Pac’ Waltman recently appeared on the WrestlingInc podcast and discussed his upcoming induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. Waltman will be inducted as part of the D-Generation X stable alongside Chyna, Billy Gunn, “Road Dogg” BG James, Triple H and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels.

• D-Generation X To Be Inducted Into WWE Hall of Fame, Chyna Included

When asked how being inducted feels Waltman replied “It’s an amazing feeling obviously…I didn’t know if I was ever gonna make it to see this day. With DX, NWO, singles – probably at some point it would be recognized. But man, I wasn’t doing too good at some point so you never know.”

X-Pac also made some interesting comments on former DX member Rick Rude. Waltman stated that “he walked out and left the company and it wasn’t on good terms.” Waltman elaborated further, saying “I don’t get anyone trying to make the connection there. No disrespect to Rick, but there was that segment on TV the following week when Shawn pushed the little guy over.” Waltman finished by saying “that was an easy role to replace. He was just there and wasn’t the spirit of DX.”

Waltman also commented on Hornswoggle and Tori who were seemingly part of the group for short periods. X-Pac diminished Hornswoggle’s contribution but was complimentary of Tori. “She was great.” Waltman stated. “She was always right where she was supposed to be and a total professional. There were so many great things about her. Definitely she’s gonna be thanked,” said Waltman.

*Credit To WrestlingInc for the transcription

New Japan has announced that David Finlay will no longer be taking part in the upcoming New Japan Cup. The company staple has been pulled from the tournament due to a shoulder injury.

New Japan sent out the following press release confirming the injury: “David Finlay injured his left shoulder on  23rd February during his match in Korakuen Hall. As a result, he will not participate in the New Japan Cup tournament as originally planned. The date of his return is as yet undecided.”

The company has also confirmed that “David Finlay’s replacement in the New Japan Cup is also undecided. We are truly sorry to all to all the fans who were looking forward to seeing David Finlay’s matches. We are hoping for his speedy recovery.”

The New Japan Cup begins on Friday March 9th from the world famous Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The 32 man tournament will be dominating the New Japan cards throughout March and the winner will be taking on Jay White at the G1 Supercard event on WrestleMania weekend in New York City. The current favourites to win the entire tournament are Kazuchika Okada, Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito and Hiroshi Tanahashi.

David Finlay to miss the New Japan Cup due to left shoulder injury

Read the full press release on the official website:https://t.co/IStPfcQffT#njpw pic.twitter.com/yqPOI0CVI8

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) February 28, 2019

Revolution Pro Wrestling (Rev Pro) will be heading back to the Cockpit in London this weekend. The card is already stacking up to be stellar and will be headlined by a rematch of a European classic. The show will be taking place on March 3rd and the show is now completely sold out. The show however will be airing live for Free on Rev Pro’s On Demand service so it is well worth checking out.

Zack Sabre Jr will be taking on Spain’s A-Kid. Their original match gained critical acclaim by the Wrestling Observer and was given a 5 Star rating. That match took place in A-Kid’s native Spain and now ZSJ has the opportunity to impress fans in his home country.

CCK’s Chris Brookes will also be on hand for the show. The popular free agent star will be taking on Darius Lockhart in singles action. Top European scene performer David Starr will also be taking part this Sunday. The ‘Jewish Cannon’ will be taking on Carlos Romo in a singles bout.

Here’s the full card for the show:

WWE’s NXT UK brand continued its weekly show this past Wednesday. The main event of the show saw The Grizzled Young Veterans defend their NXT UK Championships against Oney Lorcan and Danny Lurch. WALTER was also in action against NXT’s Kassius Ohno. The two men have previously faced in wXw (at a 16 Carat Gold tournament final), PROGRESS and at WWE at WrestleMania weekend last year. Tyler Bate was also in action against 205 Live Superstar Jack Gallagher.

Here’s the full results for NXT UK (02/27):

• Tyler Bate b. “Gentleman” Jack Gallagher – Bate took the win in 9:46 using a roll-up
• Eddie Dennis cut a promo at the NXT UK Performance Center
• WALTER b. Kassius Ohno – The Austrian Powerhouse took the win in 8:37 after hitting a power bomb
• Ligero was shown at the NXT UK Performance Center and replied to Joseph Conners comments from last week. The two men will face next week.
• Grizzled Young Veterans b. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch – The Veterans took the win in 13:09 when Danny Burch was pinned with the Ticket to Mayhem

Next week’s show will see Jordan Devlin take on Travis Banks in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Ligero will also be taking on Joseph Conners in a rematch from earlier this month.

Pro Wrestling: EVE have confirmed the main event for their upcoming ‘She Fights on Fridays’ event. The show will be taking place from the Resistance Gallery in Bethnal Green, London on Friday March 8th. 03/08 marks International Women’s Day and the company have lined up a big tag team bout to mark the occasion. Leon and Emi Sakura will be taking on NXT UK Superstar Kay Lee Ray and Command Bolshoi.

This comes after the news that EVE have confirmed that there will be a showcase event for the company taking place on April 26th. Several of EVE’s top stars have tweeted their followers hyping the announcement including NXT UK’s Kay Lee Ray, Nina Samuels and Killer Kelly.

We spoke to EVE co-owner Dann Read and he confirmed that this will be an “important” event for the company. The official company statement for the show confirmed that this would be “not a ‘one time only in the UK.’ A ‘one time only’ no matter where in the world you are that you would quite probably seriously regret missing.”

The company has been on a roll since their Wrestle Queendom show last year at York Hall in Bethnal Green, London.

https://twitter.com/ProWrestlingEVE/status/1100750781458890752

PROGRESS Wrestling has announced a huge Champion vs Champion bout for Super Strong Style 16. NXT UK Superstars Trent Seven and WALTER will be colliding on Day 2 of the weekender on May 5th. The 3 day event takes place on May 4th, 5th and 6th from Alexandra Palace in London, England.

The match was teased as part of the recent Chapter event but is now officially confirmed. Trent Seven won his ATLAS Championship as part of last year’s Wembley Arena show.

Seven defeated Doug Williams to retire the UK legend and become the new Champion. WALTER also won his PROGRESS World Championship last year against Travis Banks.

The Austrian Powerhouse also retained his belt against Seven’s British Strong Style stablemate Tyler Bate at the Wembley Arena show last year.

With both men playing a heavy part in the NXT UK brand it will interesting to see who walks away with the two belts. There is a very good chance that WALTER comes out victorious as British Strong Style are being rumored for a call up to the NXT brand in the United States. Pete Dunne, Trent Seven and Tyler Bate are arguably the biggest stars on NXT UK and are a big hit when they venture West to perform on cards in the USA.

The biggest match in PROGRESS history takes place on Sunday 5th May, when World Champion @walteraut faces Atlas Champion @trentseven in a TITLE UNIFICATION MATCH. This huge clash goes down as part of #SSS16 at @yourallypally!
Tickets: https://t.co/4Sj1N0WAAP #ThisIsPROGRESS pic.twitter.com/x4zWn0uyxN

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) February 27, 2019

WWE’s UK division will be airing its latest show tonight on WWE Network. The brand has been on a roll since the Takeover: Blackpool show and this week’s show is set to be another gem.

The Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) will be defending their NXT UK Tag Team Titles in the main event. The team will be defending against NXT Superstars Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch. This will be the first ever defence of the newly created Championships by the Veterans.

Tyler Bate will also be in action when he takes on ‘Gentleman’ Jack Gallagher. Bate and Gallagher are both practitioners of the ‘British Strong Style’ grappling arts and this should be a classic. Both men have appeared for promotions across the UK including PROGRESS.

WALTER will also be part of the show when he faces arguably his greatest challenge. The Austrian Powerhouse will be taking on Kassius Ohno in singles action. Ohno was one of the brightest stars on the UK independent scene before he returned to WWE’s NXT brand. WALTER appeared to take up the mantle of Ohno once the former Chris Hero returned to WWE. WALTER is regarded as one of the best heavyweight performers in Europe and this will be a chance for the Austrian to test his mettle against one of NXT’s best.

Don’t miss WWE NXT UK, today at 3 ET / 8 GMT on WWE Network.

World Association of Wrestling (WAW) has announced that WWE Superstar Paige will be appearing at their Fightmare event in June.

WAW is owned by Paige’s family, the Knights. This will be the former Champion’s first official appearance for the company since she joined the WWE a number of years ago.

The Knight family are currently celebrating the release of ‘Fighting With My Family.’ The film is based on Paige’s journey to WWE and her rise to RAW and the Diva’s Championship. The film has garnered critical praise and was produced by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

• Read Our Review of Fighting With My Family

WAW also announced earlier this year that former Premier League football (soccer) player Grant Holt would be swapping his studded boots for wrestling boots and entering the squared circle for Fightmare in June. Holt made his singles debut against Brad O’Brien on 22nd December.

‘The Big Dog’ Roman Reigns returned to RAW this past Monday and confirmed that his leukaemia had gone into remission. Reigns also appeared alongside former Shield stablemate Seth Rollins to aid Dean Ambrose in a segment later on in the show.

We now appear to have a clearer view of Roman’s schedule later on in the year. Reigns has been added to all RAW events through the May 6 episode in Cincinnati. There is a good chance that Roman will also be added to the upcoming RAW tapings on May 13th in London. Roman is being advertised for several events for the annual post-WrestleMania European tour.

• Video: Roman Reigns Appears On ABC’s Good Morning America

WWE does not appear to have added Reigns to any non-televised shows in the same period. This at least applies to the United States. Reigns is being promoted for the European Live event shows in Brussels, Marseille and Paris.

There’s currently no news on whether Roman will be taking part in this year’s WrestleMania. The ‘Big Dog’ looked strong in his return on Monday and could be considered for an in-ring return this April. With the company looking to load up the card with top Superstars he may well be in consideration, although it may well be too early following his recent health issues.

WWE has announced that the NXT UK brand has signed several new Superstars. Jazzy Gabert, Kay Lee Ray, Ilja Rukober, Oliver Sauter and Jay Melrose have been confirmed for the UK developmental brand.

Ilja Dragunov

Ilja Rukober is also known as popular independent star Ilja Dragunov. The newly named Rukober recently appeared at the NXT UK tapings in Coventry, England. Ilja defeated Ashton Smith in a dark match. WWE promoted Ilja in a press release saying that he had “unbridled intensity inside the ring.” Dragunov is probably the most high profile of the recent signings, along with Kay Lee Ray.

Kay Lee Ray and Jazzy Gabert

Kay Lee Ray also worked the same tapings. The former WoS Women’s Champion appeared on camera at the Takeover: Blackpool event and was expected to sign imminently. Jazzy Gabert also appear at Takeover alongside KLR, she also appeared at the first Mae Young Classic in 2017.

Jay Melrose

Melrose is known on the UK independent scene as Primate. The former DEFIANT star has made a career working in the Northern promotions in England and he now has the opportunity to ply his trade in WWE. Jay teamed with Wild Boar at this past weekend’s TV tapings to face Sam Stoker and Lewis Howley.

Press Release

WWE sent out the following press release for the new Superstars:

NXT UK signs five new Superstars

“Five new Superstars from throughout Europe. Ilja Rukober, Kay Lee Ray, Jazzy Gabert, Oliver Sauter and Jay Melrose have joined the NXT UK roster. The group will join other NXT UK Superstars in training at WWE’s United Kingdom Performance Center in North London.

The 25-year-old Rukober, who competes around the world under the ring name Ilja Dragunov, was born in Russia and raised in Germany, where his career in sports-entertainment took root. Often described as “Unbesiegbar” (the German word for “invincible”), Rukober is feared for his unbridled intensity inside the ring. He turned heads at a WWE tryout in Cologne last November.

Hailing from Glasgow, Scotland, the 5-foot-8 Ray has racked up numerous championship reigns over her 10-year career, including three stints as Insane Championship Wrestling’s women’s titleholder. Known for throwing caution to the wind, the Scottish daredevil recently appeared on NXT UK on WWE Network and promised to “go straight to the top” of the Women’s division.

Mae Young Classic

Widely regarded as one of the strongest women in sports-entertainment, the burly Berliner Gabert stands 6-foot-1 and has won wrestling titles in Germany, Japan and Switzerland.

Sauter comes to NXT UK from Dietikon, Switzerland. The 24-year-old was a soccer standout before training for the ring. Fast-moving and hard-hitting, Sauter wrestled throughout Europe under the professional alias of Oliver Carter. Like Rukober, he attended last year’s tryout in Cologne.

NXT UK fans, meanwhile, have already grown familiar with “Primate” Jay Melrose. The ape-mask-wearing Superstar who debuted on the brand in December. Hailing from Newcastle, England, the 220-pound Melrose served in the British army for six years. This including as a member of the British Household Cavalry, which provides direct protection for the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace.

Keep your eyes peeled for the newest signees when NXT UK streams every Wednesday at 3 ET/8 GMT on the award-winning WWE Network.”